Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2002-03: Played for the New England Coyotes of the EJHL Led the EJHL in scoring in with 58 points (28 goals, 30 assists) Earned EJHL Offensive Player of the Year Award and league MVP honors and was also named the MVP of the Top Prospects Tournament in 2002. Earned Hockey Night In Boston Junior Player of the Year.

2003-04: Selected to the U.S. National Junior Team Evaluation Camp (August 2003) but did not make WJC team. Named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.

2004-05: His sophomore season with the Friars was interrupted by a knee injury but before that occurred he was a point per game player and the go-to guy in Providence’s line up. Upon his return, Providence experienced a late season run after not winning a game in his absence. In the playoffs, McDonald played center.

2005-06: Statistically his best college year, new head coach Tim Army allowed the club to open up more offensively which played to McDonald’s strengths. Appeared at Edmonton’s prospect camp in the middle of June.2006-07: In his final season with Providence College, McDonald tallied 13 goals and 17 points in 36 games. He finished with 43 goals and 77 points in 135 games as a Friar.

2007-08: This marked McDonald’s first season of professional hockey, which he spent with the Springfield Falcons (AHL). In 73 games, he recorded 12 goals and 23 points, along with 46 minutes in penalties.

Talent Analysis

McDonald has good physical skills and a deadly accurate shot but he needs to get himself into better position to use the shot more effectively. He is strong and aggressive down low and in the corners, goes hard to the net and brings a positive work ethic and energy to the table. However, he wasn’t supposed to be an energy player as a pro, he’s supposed to be a scorer. Another high character person, well-spoken and charismatic personality; very Jarret Stoll-like.

Future

A critical year coming up for McDonald as it’s the last of his entry-level contract. He was a jack-of-all-trades for the Falcons last season but has to establish himself as a top-six player in the AHL this year.

After a long, drawn out, miserably hot and oppressive summer without hockey and no zamboni in sight, the only thing us Devils fans could do was discuss the upcoming season and speculate on what events that could possibly unfold via the message boards. Well, all of that is finally over and after an excellent training camp and pre-season, especially for the rookies and minor leaguers, there is only one thing that the Devils HF staff can do before the season gets into full swing and start filing reports about our favorite future Devils. And that is reconsider and re-rank the Devils top 20 prospects for the upcoming season. To probably no one’s surprise, there was some movement within the rankings, but nothing major nor nothing unanticipated. The largest climb in position was about 8 spots and the largest drop was 6 places, but most other movements were, on average, only one or two spots. One player graduated and one player was removed from the top twenty. Well, without further due, we would like to present the new top 20 prospects currently in the Devils organization.

1. Ari Ahonen- Goalie- River Rats, 6’2”, 172 lbs. Previous Ranking: #1After signing a contract with the Devils last spring, Ari has completed his first training camp in New Jersey. Ari did, however, spend some time in Albany with Jacques Caron and the rest of the Rats. Although he did not receive any ice time during the pre-season for the Devils, he did have a solid camp. Ahonen will be working closely with newly hired Rats assistant coach and former Devils’ net minder Chris Terreri for the Read more»

Well, they say that first impressions count for a lot. The first time you come home with an “A” paper. That first kiss in the tree fort out in your back yard and of course the first time you witness a credulous, proficient hockey team playing in your own rink.

Fans of the Lowell Lock Monsters got just that this past weekend. They were treated to what looks like an superbly experienced hockey club.

What’s diffrent, you might ask? Almost everything is the answer. The Lowell Lock Monsters are newly affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes. Which means a complete new team (mostly comprised of former IHL Cinncinatti Cyclones), new uniforms (incorporates the Carolina look) a new head coach,assistant coach,trainer, front office staff..so on and so forth. Most noticible though, is a new winning attitude.

Games played this week featured division rivals Manchester Monarchs and long time foes St. John Leafs.

Lowell 6 Manchester 3

Home town hero Greg Koehler opened the scoring, taking a pretty dish from between the net from Mike Zigomanis, with a one-timer in front at 6:38. Lowell and Manchester both played with a lot of pep but Lowell seemed to get the breaks when they were needed.

Newly appointed captain Byron Ritchie would put Lowell ahead. Ritchie scored the final two goals of the period, including a shorthanded tally with 10 seconds left that deflected off the stick of Tomas Zizka and between Fiset’s pads.

Coaching changes highlighted the off-season activity of the Albany River Rats, who this week began their ninth American Hockey League season, all as the affiliate of the New Jersey Devils. Bob Carpenter was promoted to head coach of the Albany River Rats, from associate coach. Hired as assistant coaches were Geordie Kinnear, who retired last year from the Rats due to injury and who holds a number of defense records for Albany, and Chris Terreri, recently retired from NHL goaltending, to serve as goaltender coach for the Rats.

Carpenter’s promotion to top bench boss followed two years under the tutelage of John Cunniff, who resumes scouting duties for the Devils after a five-year tenure as Albany coach. Carpenter began his post-NHL playing days as an assistant coach in Albany on August 12, 1999, with a promotion to associate coach the following season.

The former standout centerman who was the first American player ever drafted in the first round (3rd overall in the 1981 entry draft), Carpenter gained notoriety by making the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school senior. He retired from play in 1999, after 728 points (320G; 408A) in 1,178 NHL games.

For a hockey guy new to the coaching business, Carpenter was in the right place at the right time for some on-the-job training. When the Albany River Rats were eliminated in the first round by Rochester in the 2000-2001 Calder Cup playoffs, Carpenter got called up by recently-hired Devils’ coach, Larry Rob Read more»

Join me, if you will, for a trip back to March of the year 2000. The Blues were comfortably cruising along to their first President’s Trophy. The goaltending duo of Roman Turek and Jamie McLennan manned the nets, allowing fewer than two goals per game. Marc Bergevin, Rico Persson and Dave Ellett patrolled the blueline while Craig Conroy and Scott Pellerin handled the penalty killing duties.

Seems like decades ago, doesn’t it? It’s only been eighteen months. If the St. Louis Blues team of a year and a half ago were to take one look at today’s offering, they probably wouldn’t be able to recognize half of them. In fact, over that short period, the Blues have for one reason or another, parted ways with a group of players large enough to start their own franchise; complete with 3 goaltenders, 18 forwards, and 12 defensemen.

For the duration of that record-breaking season, the talk of the town was the Cycling Slovak line, consisting of Pavol Demitra, Michal Handzus, and Lubos Bartecko. Best known for their puck-moving style, the Slovak Pack, as they were also known, would buzz around the opposing faceoff circle and with a series of short drop passes, making defenders utterly dizzy. Their circus-like moniker, highlight-reel goals, and undeniable chemistry made the entertaining Slovaks the most recognizable symbol of Blues’ hockey in ’99-’00.

A singular moment in March of 2000 would forever change the face of the organization, not to mention that of winger Pavol Demitra. Thescintillating success of the Cycling Slovaks came to a screechinghalt a Read more»